Probably not pathogenic. Distinctive characters : Requires uric acid or certain other purines as a primary source of carbon and energy. The purines are con- verted mainly into ammonia, CO2 and acetic acid. During growth the medium tends to become alkaline (pH 8.0 to 8.5) ; there is no visible evolution of gas. Source: Isolated from soils and muds of diverse origin. Habitat: Evidently widely dispersed in soils. Present in fecal material of the yellow- shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus) . 53. Clostridium capitovale (Snyder and Hall, 1935) Snyder, 1936. {Bacillus capitovalis Snyder and Hall, Zent. f. Bakt., I Abt., Orig., 135, 1935, 290; Clostridium capitovalis (sic) Snyder, Jour. Bact., 32, 1936, 401.) ca.pi.to.va'le. L. noun caput, capitis head; M.L. adj. ovalis oval; M.L. adj. capi- tovalis with an oval head. Slender, commonly curved rods, 0.5 to 0.8 by 2.0 to 2.5 microns, with rounded ends, ocurring singly, in pairs and rarely in short chains. Spores ovoid, terminal, swelling the cells. Motile by means of long, peritrichous flagella. Gram-positive. Gelatin: Liquefaction. Agar deep colonies: Small, opaque, len- ticular to heart-shaped. Egg yolk agar surface colonies : Vary from circular to somewhat irregular, moist to only slightly so, smooth to somewhat roughened, somewhat flattened with no precipitate or luster. Blood agar surface colonies (anaerobic): Tiny, transparent, round or irregular dew- drops, becoming opaque. No hemolysis. Tryptone broth: Turbid. Gas is produced. Milk: Often but not invariably clotted. Acid is produced. Clot, when formed, is not digested. Indole not produced. Acid and gas from glucose, fructose and galactose. Maltose, lactose, sucrose, raffi- nose, xylose, inulin, dextrin, starch, cellu- lose, amygdalin, salicin, mannitol and glycerol not fermented. Nitrites not produced from nitrates. Nitrates reduced (Reed, Jour. Bact., 44, 1942, 425). Coagulated albumin: Liquefaction. Blood serum: Slowly softened and par- tially liquefied. No blackening. Mildly proteolytic. Brain medium: Blackening; slightly soft- ened but not conspicuously liquefied. Anaerobic. Grows at 37° C. Pathogenic for guinea pigs, which may show slight, subcutaneous edema; usually no effect. Not pathogenic for rabbits. Source: Isolated from human feces, cases of gaseous gangrene and septicemia. Habitat: Not determined. 54. Clostridium cadaveris (Klein, 1899) McClung and McCoy, comb. nov. {Bacillus cadaveris sporogenes {anaerohicus) Klein, Cent. f. Bakt., I Abt., 25, 1899, 279; Bacillus cadaveris Klein, ibid., 280; not Bacillus cadaveris Sternberg, Researches relating to the etiology and prevention of yellow fever, Washington, 1891, 212; Bacillus cadaveris sporogenes Klein, op. cit., 1899, 282; Plec- tridium cadaveris Pr^vot, Ann. Inst. Past., 61, 1938, 88; also see Saissac and Andre, Ann. Inst. Past., 73, 1947, 936.) ca.dav'er.is. L. noun cadaver the dead body of man or other animals, cadaver; L. gen. noun cadaveris of a cadaver. Straight or curved rods, 0.4 to 0.5 by 4.0 to 5.0 microns, generally occurring singly. Spores terminal and ovoid, swelling the cells. Motile. Gram-positive. Gelatin : Liquefaction in 4 days. Agar deep colonies: Lenticular, later woolly, centers becoming brownish. Abund- ant gas is produced. Peptone broth: Turbid; black deposit. Glucose broth: Turbid; non-viscous sedi- ment; fetid odor, with hydrogen sulfide. Milk: Partially coagulated, later partially digested. Indole produced; skatole not produced. Glucose actively fermented. Fructose and sucrose slightly fermented. Arabinose, galactose, lactose, maltose, mannitol, glyc- erol and starch not attacked. Nitrites not produced from nitrates. Coagulated serum, egg, fibrin, liver and brain: Digestion begins in four to five days. Anaerobic.
